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In this article, the 9/11 events are analysed from a gender perspective -- both the terror attacks & the military responses upon them. Gender is shown to be relevant in several aspects, as gendered arguments have been used to justify acts of violence on both sides. Concerning the cultural construction of femininity, women were made invisible in the Western media debate that followed upon the terror attacks. At the same time, Afghan women were constructed as victims & became the alibi for the American military responses to the 9/11 attacks. Further, cultural gender norms of masculinity coloured the American rhetoric that justified the wars in both Afghanistan & Iraq. Finally, the analysis in the article shows how the terror attacks might be interpreted as a way to (re)construct a masculinity men in certain contexts might feel they are entitled to, after an experienced emasculation. The conclusion in the article is that a gender analysis deepens our understanding of the war on terrorism, & at the same time it shows how gender has become a central aspect of global politics. References. Adapted from the source document.

The author describes the Nicaraguan celebration of La Purisima, by far the most popular festivity in the country, and discusses this religious and social phenomenon as an expression of the position of women in Nicaraguan society

A discussion of the book by Kari Karame and Torunn Tryggestad (Eds), Kvinner, krise og krig (NUPI-rapport nr. 225( ([Women, Crises, and War (NUPI report n. 225)] Oslo: NUPI 1997), as an illustration of the importance of Norsk Utenrikpolitisk Institutt (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs [NUPI]) to political sciences. Adapted from the source document.

I'm standing outside a store in Meymaneh. It is May 2011. A few weeks before, the Norwegian UN employee Siri Skaare and several of her colleagues were brutally murdered when a mob attacked the UN camp in the neighboring city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Therefore, almost all foreigners left Maymaneh. There is a heavy atmosphere in the city. But we are considering the security situation to mean that it is safe to move around the town and are therefore out shopping. Along with some of my female colleagues, duly wrapped into large shawl covering all hair, we visited one carpet shop. But after 40 minutes of intense shopping, I take a break from all the bargaining and go out to look at life. A little boy standing outside. He is traditionally dressed, has a working scars shreds in your hands, around 12-14 years and smiles broadly at me. I smile back, and gets a little surprised when he says: 'How are you?' In good English. We are standing and chat. A piece out of the conversation he said: 'I feel so sorry for you, sir.' Hmm - I think. Seems this poor lad in one of the toughest countries sorry for me? 'Why?' I ask. 'Because you are going to hell.' What? - I'll go to hell? 'Why?' I ask again. 'Because you cannot control your women.' My surprise is great, and it gets bigger. During the conversation it emerges that this young boy seems genuinely sorry for me because my female colleagues, which he describes as my women, cannot be controlled because they are not wearing the traditional burqa. It is my responsibility to check them and make sure they are morally properly dressed, and since I cannot fix it, it's me Allah will judge the torments of hell, he argues. I cannot refrain from attempting to persuade the boy that there is an alternative thinking about women and their ability to make independent choices. But I fail - and we part as enemies. Adapted from the source document.

The author discusses cultural change and development through an analysis of a project for increasing production of guinea pigs in the highlands of Ecuador. He opposes two models of knowledge - the traditional and the modern - in order to find discontinuities and eventually contradictions. The empirical findings show that change is difficult to implement when production has a highly symbolic value that, in addition, relates with women's status and symbolic power. However, women's status changes as women gain independence and autonomy